Large-capacity information recording mediums, such as DVDs (Digital Versatile Disc) which are typical of them, have been widely spread. In recently, the desire with respect to an information recording medium which allows data to be recorded thereon grows. For example, standards of disks including a DVD-R (DVD-Recordable) which allows data to be recorded thereon only once, a DVD-RW (DVD-Re-Recordable) which allows data to be repeatedly recorded thereon and so on are known. In cases of recording data on such as recordable or re-recordable disk, when recording additional data on an area which is continued on a former area on which another data is already recorded, a linking block must be formed on the boundary portion between both of data.
That is, when starting to record new additional data on an area directly adjacent to the former area on which data is already recorded, a difference between both of the timings of reproducing both of the adjacent areas causes a data error.
Recording, therefore, new additional data on another area away from the former area on which the data is already recorded at a predetermined interval makes secure accurate reproduction of the recorded data.
In a DVD format, error-correction operations are carried out for each ECC (Error Control Code) block. After new additional data is recorded on the DVD, the last ECC block included in the already recorded data and the first ECC block included in the new additional data are adjacent to each other. Usually, a predetermined range in the first ECC block, which is adjacent to the head thereof, is set as the linking block.
Setting the linking block, however, in the described manner causes a problem in that a size of the ECC block, which can be utilized for error-correction, to be reduced, thereby deteriorating error-correction performance.
In order to prevent the error-correction performance from being deteriorated, it is possible not to write data on the head one of the ECC blocks in the additional data, data which must be originally written thereon. Because the ECC block, however, has a remarkably large data size (16 sectors in length, that is, 38688 bytes in length), in cases where the head one of the ECC blocks is not utilized each time the additional data is recorded, making increase useless areas in the recording zone on the disk, thereby causing a data capacity of the disk which allows recording of data thereon to be decreased.
From this viewpoint, it is considered that the linking block is arranged independent of the ECC block, whereas, when forming the linking block on a recordable/re-recordable information recording medium, such as a DVD-R, DVD-RW or the like, which allows data to be recorded, so that the linking block is independent of the ECC block, it is not secured that the compatibility of the recordable/re-recordable information recording medium with a reproduction-only information recording medium such as DVD-ROM (DVD-Read Only Memory).
It is, therefore, desirable to determine the format of linking block which is commonly arranged on both of the recordable/re-recordable information recording medium and the reproduction-only information recording medium, thereby making common the definition of the format of linking block as a recording format.
The linking block, however, in the reproduction-only information recording medium, which is not originally required therein, causes the recording capacity of the reproduction-only information recording medium to be wasted.
In cases where the recording format is common between the recordable/re-recordable information recording medium and the reproduction-only information recording medium so that arbitrary information is recorded on the linking block in the reproduction-only information recording medium, it is impossible to prevent the whole information recorded on the reproduction-only information recording medium from being illegally copied, thereby recording the illegally copied information on the recordable/re-recordable information recording medium.
The present invention is directed to overcome the foregoing problems. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide an information recording/reproducing apparatus, an information recording medium, an information reproducing medium and so on, which are capable of preventing, when forming the linking block on an information recordable/re-recordable recording medium or a reproduction-only information recording medium, error-correction performance from being deteriorated, thereby improving their reliabilities.
In addition, it is another object of the present invention to cause the waste in a recording area of an information recording medium to be decreased, thereby making efficiently use of the recording capacity in the information recording medium. Furthermore, it is further object of the present invention to efficiently prevent an illegal copy from the information recording medium.